Billet sorting apparatus



M. MORGAN BILLET SORTING APPARATUS June 22, 1943.

Filed Jan. 21 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet l [NVENTOR NYLES MORGAN ATTORNEY June22, 1943. MORGAN 2,322,655

BILLET SORTING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 21, 1942 3 Sheets---Sheet 2zNVEN'TOR MYLES MORGAN ATTORNEY June 22, 1943. M. MORGAN 2,322,655

BILLET SORTING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 21 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORMYL-ES MORGAN AT TORNEY Patented June 22, 1943 BILLET SORTING APPARATUSMyles Morgan, Worcester, Mass, assignor to Morgan Construction Company,Worcester, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application January 21,1942, Serial No. 427,596

9 Claims.

This invention relates to billet sorting apparatus, and moreparticularly to apparatus for use i in conjunction with the cooling bedof a mill for rolling metal billets and arranged to facilitate thesorting ofthe billets into groups having distinguishing characteristics.

In the manufacture of billets, molten metal is poured into moldsto formcast ingots, and these ingots are reduced into billets by a. series ofroll passes. As the billets leave the cooling bed of the rolling mill,it is important to separate them into groups. For example there willordinarily be a group of billets from the top endsof the ingots, a groupfrom the middle portions of the ingots, and a group from the bottom endsof the ingots. Also, there may be groups of defective tops, middles andbottoms" having various imperfections. In the past the sorting ofbillets has been carried out largely by hand, a procedure which is slow,laborious, dangerous and expensive.

It is accordingly one object of the invention to provide an apparatuswhich will greatly facilitate the sorting of billets and eliminatesubstantially all hand labor from this operation.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a rugged anddependable apparatus adapted to receive metal billets they aredischarged broadside from a cooling bed and assemble them into groupsunder the control of an operator.

With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of partsset forth in the specification and covered by the claims appendedhereto.

Referring to the drawings illustrating one embodiment of the inventionand in which like reference numerals indicate like parts,

the usual billet cooling bed having spaced horizontal skids ID on whichthe billets are supported. Between certain of the skids there areprovided the usual go-devils ll (Fig. 1) which can be reciprocated indirections parallel with the skids by well known power mechanism underthe control of the operator to move the billets broadside along theskids and discharge. them from the ends thereof. While the billets areon the cooling bed they will be inspected and marked to indicate thegroup to which they belong. The billets may be marked by applying paintof various colors to their ends.

Adjacent the discharge end of the cooling bed there is provided a groupof parallel horizontal troughs l2, seven being shown in the particularembodiment illustrated. These troughs are arranged in a graduallydescending series, with the highest troughs located close to andslightly be-- neath the ends of the cooling bed skids Ill. The troughsare formed by spaced downwardly sloping rows of members it whichalternate with downwardly sloping rows of members l5, all of which arefirmly supported upon a concrete foundation IS. The members It and I5are preferably metal castings which are joined together in each row invertical planes passing through the centers of the troughs. As shown inFig. 2, the members H) are somewhat narrower than the members It, andthe space between the rows is sufficient to allow a workman to walkalong the same.

Bridge members l8 are provided across the tops of all the troughs l2(except the lowermost troughs), and means is provided to withdraw thebridge members adjacent any selected trough so that a descending billetwill be deposited therein. These bridge members are preferably formed asbars or levers which are fulcrumed on pins it carried by the members it.The main arm of each lever It extends upwardly from the fulcrum l9, andwhen in its normal or lowered position it crosses the adjacent trough l2and rests on the wall at the upper side of the trough. With the leverslowered, their upper surfaces lies in a common plane with the uppersurfaces of the members l4 between the troughs, this plane beinginclined at an angle somewhat exceeding the angle of friction, so thatthe billets will slide thereover by gravity. Preferably the levers areso arranged that they may be swung upwardly about their fulcrums, andfor this purpose each lever is provided at its lower end with a shortarm 2| (Fig. 3) which is connected by a link 22 to an arm 23 on ahorizontal shaft 25. These shafts 25 extend parallel with the troughsii, there being one shaft for each trough (except the lowermost trough,which has no levers). The shafts are located beneath the lever fulcrumsl8 and out of the path of the descending billets. An arm 26 is mountedon each shaft near one end of the motor, the parts will return bygravity to their original positions. A suitable construction for themechanism 28 is disclosed in the United States patent to Driesch No.2,036,798, granted April '7, 1936. The energization of the motors 23 maybe controlled by separate manually operable switches (not shown) locatedin any position convenient for the operator.

After an appreciable number of billets of a given classification haveaccumulated in a particular trough, they may be removed by any suitableapparatus, such as an overhead crane. Preferably the billets are handledby means of chain slings 3|, as indicated in Fig. 4. In order to aid theoperators in passing the chains beneath the billets, chain guide members32 are provided adjacent the troughs. These members are located beneaththe upper sides of the troughs, and they are provided with uppersurfaces which slope downwardly away from the cooling bed to guide thelowered chains beneath the billets.

In the embodiment illustrated, the motors 29 will raise the levers I8enough to allow the billets to drop into the troughs, but not enough toavoid interference with the groups of billets as they are lifted fromthe troughs; While the various parts might easily be constructed toprovide sufilcient power actuated movement of the levers to avoid suchinterference, there would still be danger of broken parts in the event acareless crane opblock, a nut 35 being provided on the lower end of eachlink to form an abutment for engagement with the block when the shaft 25is turned to raise the levers. This construction provides a lostmotionconnection such that when the levers are raised by engagement of a groupof lifted billets therewith, as shown at the left in Fig. 4, the links22 will slide downwardly through the blocks 34. In order to ensure thereturn of the levers after the billets have been moved out of contacttherewith, each link 22 is provided with an abutment or shoulder 31spaced above the block 34, and a coiled spring 38 surrounds each linkbetween this shoulder and the block. These parts are so arranged thatwhen the billets are lifted from the trough, thereby raising the levers,the shoulders 31 will engage the upper ends of the springs 38 andcompress the same. When the billets have cleared the levers, the springswill expand once more and cause the levers to swing downwardly at leastfar enough to bring them into a position such that gravity will completetheir movement.

The operation of the invention will now be apparent from the abovedisclosure. The billets will be classified and marked while they rest onthe skids III of the cooling bed. The operator will energize the motor29 associated with the particular trough I2 which corresponds with theclassification of the billet nearest the discharge end of the coolingbed. This will turn the shaft 25 and raise the levers 18 above the saidtrough. The go-devils II will then be actuated to push the billet fromthe cooling bed, and the billet will slide broadside by gravity over theintervening levers l8 until it reaches the proper trough and isdeposited therein. If several consecutive billets are in the sameclassification, they will be pushed off as a group by the go-devils.When a trough is to be emptied, chains 3| will be lowered at the upperside of the bundle on to the chain guides 32, which will deflect theends of the chains downwardly beneath the bundle, so that workmen mayreadily grasp these ends and hook them in place to form slings aroundthe bundle. Thereupon the slings will be elevated by the crane, raisingthe billets and lifting the levers l8 above the same, the links 22sliding through the blocks 34 to compress the springs 38. Upon removalof the billets, the springs will expand and aid gravity in returning thelevers to their original positions.

It will be clear that the invention provides a very rugged anddependable apparatus whereby billets may be sorted very expeditiously.Substantially no hand labor is required, and the operation can beregulated from a control station in a safe and convenient location. Theapparatus is particularly adapted for use with modern rolling mills ofthe continuous type, which deliver billets in rapid succession to thecooling bed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. Billet sorting apparatus comprising a group of parallel horizontaltroughs arranged in a gradually descending series, bars pivotallysecured to the lower walls of the troughs and extending upwardly acrossthe troughs to provide an inclined surface over which billets may slidebroadside downwardly, a horizontal rotatable shaft adjacent each troughand parallel therewith, arms secured to the shafts, and links connectingthe arms with the corresponding bars and so arranged that by turning theproper shaft the bars above a selected trough may be swung upwardly tocause a descending billet to be deposited therein.

2. Billet sorting apparatus comprising spaced parallel inclined rows ofmembers shaped to form a series of horizontal troughs arranged in agradually descending series, bars pivotally secured to the lower wallsof the troughs and extending upwardly across the troughs to provide aninclined surface over which billets may slide broadside downwardly, ahorizontal rotatable shaft adjacent each trough and parallel therewith,the shafts being located a substantial distance below the correspondingbars, and means connecting the shafts with the corresponding bars and soarranged that by turning the proper shaft the bars above a selectedtrough may be swung upwardly to cause a descending billet to bedeposited therein.

3. Billet sorting apparatus comprising a group of parallel horizontaltroughs arranged in a gradually descending series, bars pivotallysecured to the lower walls of the troughs and extending upwardly acrossthe troughs to providean inclined surface over which billets may slidebroadside downwardly, and power actuated means to swing the barsadjacent any selected trough upwardly and therebycause a descendingbillet to be deposited therein, the bars being free to swing upwardlyindependently of the power actuated means, whereby the billets may bereadily lifted out of the troughs.

4. Billet sorting apparatus comprising a group of parallel horizontaltroughs arranged in a gradually descending series, bars pivotallysecured to the lower walls of the troughs and extend ng upwardly acrossthe troughs to provide an inclined surface over which billets may slidebroadside downwardly, a horizontal rotatable shaft adjacent each troughand parallel therewith, and a lost-motion connection between each barand the corresponding shaft so arranged that by turning the proper shaftthe bars above a selected trough may be swung upwardly to cause adescending billet to be deposited therein, the said connectionspermitting the bars to be raised independently of the shafts as billetsare lifted from the troughs.

5. Billet sorting apparatus comprising a group of parallel horizontaltroughs arranged in a gradually descending series, bars pivotallysecured to the lower walls of the troughs and extending'upwardly acrossthe troughs to provide an inclined surface over which billets may slidebroadside downwardly, a horizontal rotatable shaft adjacent each troughand parallel therewith, a separate motor connected to each shaft toactuate the same, arms secured to the shafts, and means connecting thearms with the corresponding bars and so arranged that by energizing theproper motor the bars above a selected trough may be swung upwardly tocause a descending billet to be deposited therein.

' 6. Billet sorting apparatus comprising a group of parallel horizontaltroughs arranged in a gradually descending series, bars pivotallysecured to the lower walls of the troughs and extending upwardly acrossthe troughs to provide an inclined surface o er which billets may slidebroadside downwardly, a horizontal rotatable shaft adjacent each troughand parallel therewith, arms secured to the shafts, blocks pivoted tothe arms, and links slidable through theblocks and connected to thebars, the links having abutments thereon for engagement with the blocksso that as a shaft is turned the bars above a selected trough will beswung upwardly to cause a descending billet to be deposited therein, thelinks sliding through the blocks when the bars are raised by the liftingof billets from the troughs.

7. Billet sorting apparatus comprising a group of parallel horizontaltroughs arranged in a grad-- ually descending series, bars pivotallysecured to the lower walls of the troughs and extending upwardly acrossthe troughs to provide an inclined surface over which billets may slidebroadside downwardly, a horizontal rotatable shaft adjacent each troughand parallel therewith, arms secured to the shafts, blocks pivoted tothe arms, links slidable through the blocks and connected to the bars,each link having two shoulders thereon at opposite sides of the block soarranged that as a shaft is turned one of the abutments on each of thecorresponding links will be engaged by the blocks and the bars above thecorresponding trough will be swung upwardly to cause a descending billetto be deposited therein, the links sliding through the blocks when thebars are raised by the lifting of billets from the troughs, and a coiledspring surrounding each link between the block and the other shoulder toassist in returning the bars to their lower positions.

8. Billet sorting apparatus comprising a series of parallel horizontaltroughs arranged to receive groups of billets therein, and guide membersassociated with the troughs providing inclined upper surfaces on towhich chains may be lowered and arranged to deflect the chains beneaththe groups of billets.

9. Billet sorting apparatus comprising spaced parallel rows of membersshaped to form a series of horizontal troughs arranged to receive groupsof billets which extend transversely of the rows, and guide memberslocated laterally adjacent to the trough-forming members and providinginclined upper surfaces on to which chains may be lowered and arrangedto deflect the chainsv beneath the groups of billets. I MYLES MORGAN.

